


Demons Don't Wear Suits

by AralezInSpace



Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Elementary School, High School, Imaginary Friend, Middle School, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Tags Are Hard, no beta we die like men, school shenanigans
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:14:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25700428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AralezInSpace/pseuds/AralezInSpace
Summary: Monsters don't live under the bed, they surely don't become friends with the kid whose bed they're living under, and they definitely don't playfully haunt and protect the house they live in. Right?
Comments: 13
Kudos: 43





	1. Introduction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Dawnlightsilhouette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawnlightsilhouette/gifts).



> Many many thanks to [DawnLightSilhouette](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawnlightsilhouette/pseuds/Dawnlightsilhouette) for this beautiful, heartwarming, and possibly hilarious idea, I had so much fun writing this chapter and there will definitely be more as Ciel goes through his school years. Title and general arc inspired by the Bailey School Kids books. Enjoy!

Vincent and Rachel Phantomhive never believed their home was haunted, but Ciel knew better. How could it not be? He had heard his parents talking about how their house was one hundred and eighty years old but had been fixed up. For a six year old, one hundred and eighty years may as well have been an eternity, definitely long enough for a restless spirit or something else to take up residence. Maybe it was because he still had a youthful imagination that hadn’t been clouded and hacked away by a grown up’s troubles, or maybe he had absorbed way too many ghost stories and movies about haunted houses and dark spirits. No matter where he got the ideas, Vincent and Rachel simply nodded and went along with Ciel’s ponderings about whether they were the only ones living in their house.  
It lived under his bed, he said. The creature that shared the house with them. Of course, Vincent and Rachel thought nothing of this; every child had monsters under their bed. They tried every parenting tip they could find online: nightlights, monster-be-gone spray, singing a song to banish it. No matter what they did, Ciel insisted that it was still there. Surprisingly though, he didn’t seem to be afraid. Rather, he was quite curious about the creature under his bed. What color was it? Was it a boy or a girl? How many teeth did it have? These were hardly encouraging questions, but the Phantomhives figured he would soon grow out of it. Ciel was starting elementary school in a few weeks where he would be with many more kids his own age. It would be good for him. Maybe they would help him move past this monster under his bed.

~~~~~

It was the night before Ciel’s first day of school. His clothes were laid out on the dresser, his backpack hung in the mudroom filled with pencils and supplies. It was many hours past his bedtime, but Ciel was still awake, curled up under the covers with butterflies in his stomach. He was nervous about starting in a new school, with a new teacher and new classmates. What if he forgot his pants?  
It was decided, Ciel wasn’t going to school tomorrow. He’d pretend to be sick when mom came to wake him up. A cough, or maybe a stomach ache. Then he could stay home and play in his room and read books all day.  


With that somewhat assuring plan in mind, Ciel turned over and was about to go to sleep when he heard a hiss from under his bed. Then another hiss, and the sound of dead leaves crunching underfoot. Cautious but curious, Ciel pulled the blankets off his chest and leaned carefully over the side of his bed to peer under. The shadows seemed thicker tonight; Ciel couldn’t even see the floorboards under his bed.  


“Hello?” he called softly under his bed. “I know you’re down there. W-what’s your name? I’m Ciel.” No answer came from under the bed, just a breath that sounded like a sigh, and a bit like a laugh. “My parents don’t believe you’re real,” Ciel continued, rolling over to lay on his back. “But I do, I’ve known you were under my bed since we moved. So what’s your name?”  


He was about to ask again when the shadows of his room began to move, darkening the walls even more. Ciel quickly rolled onto his back, fixing his eyes on the ceiling as he began to shake: monsters under the bed didn’t bother him, but the dark definitely did. He couldn’t even see the small glow from his nightlight. “H-hello?”  


“Well hello there.” The soft baritone seemed to come from everywhere in the room at once, the hint of a chuckle in the decidedly male tone. “You’re quite perceptive for a young lad, to notice me here. And quite odd, to not be afraid of the monsters lurking in the dark.” A pause. “You’re correct, I have been here for quite some time, and it has been rather lonely. Until you and your family moved here.”  


“You still haven’t told me your name,” Ciel said petulantly to the ceiling, refusing to try to find the monster in the deep dark of his room. Another chuckle came from the blackness as it began to condense into a shape. A horse? A dog? No, it looked like a monster straight out of one of his stories. A chill went down his spine and gooseflesh pimpled his arms, but he continued to stare at the ceiling, refusing to let the darkness see his fear.  


“You’re rather smart for a boy your age.” Two glowing red eyes appeared from the blackness, along with a smile of sharp teeth. “My name is Sebastian. I think I’m going to like you very much, Ciel Phantomhive.” 

~~~~~

The next day, Ciel did end up going to school; Rachel hadn’t bought his sick act for a moment. But rather than paying attention to his teacher, Ciel was thinking about the monster under his bed. No one in the class would believe him, so he kept it to himself. They were all silly anyway, talking nonsense and reading silly children’s books.  


Soon enough it was lunch time, and Ciel sat at the cafeteria table slightly away from his classmates. Opening his lunch bag, he found the sandwich, apple, chips, and cheese stick mom had packed for him this morning. But there was also something his mom would never have packed for his lunch, a large chocolate bar. Ciel only had candy after dinner, and only after he had eaten his veggies. How did this get in here? He thought to himself. Mom would never have packed it, and dad had already left for work by the time she was done making lunch. So it could only have been… Sebastian?  


The monster under his bed was packing his lunches?  


Ciel ate the rest of his lunch in silence, deciding not to tell his parents about the chocolate. They were already hoping he’d “grow out” of the monster under his bed. They didn’t need to know.  


After school, Ciel got on his bus and spent the ride home staring out the window and ignoring the other children. Rachel was waiting for him at the end of their driveway, smiling and waving.  


“How was your first day of school?” she asked as they went inside and took off their shoes.  


“It was alright. My classmates are silly.” A pause. “Can I go play now?” Rachel chuckled and shrugged as she hung up his jacket. “Yes, go play. We’ll have dinner when dad gets home.” She leaned down for a kiss from her son before he darted upstairs to his room.  


Once the door was shut, Ciel sat on the floor against the wall, across the room from his bed, trying to peer under it. “Sebastian?” he called softly. “Are you still there?”  


“Hello Ciel.” The voice came from under his bed, accompanied by the same red eyes and sharp smile as the night before. “How was your first day of school? Did you see my little surprise?”  


“Yea, thanks for that. It was really good.”  


“Ciel!” Rachel’s voice floated up from downstairs. “Who are you talking to up there?”  


“Uh, no one! Just reading!”  


“Alright, come downstairs for dinner, your father’s home.”  


“Okay!” Ciel crouched and peeked back under the bed. “I’ll be right back.”  


“Oh, Ciel?” Sebastian cooed in a whisper. “Would you kindly do me a favor? I find I’ve been craving an apple, would you bring one to me?” A tiny smile touched Ciel’s face.  


“Sure thing.” The demon’s smile grew before the teeth and eyes vanished back into the blackness under the bed. 

~~~~

As the school year went on, Ciel grew less afraid of Sebastian and more curious, far too curious and far too smart for his own good, according to the demon. The small boy was hardly a usual child. Instead of reading picture books with short sentences more suited for first graders, he was reading at the third grade level, diluted versions of Edgar Allen Poe and Mary Shelley. His copy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark was practically falling apart from how many times he had read it.  


If he had been at all afraid of the demon, he hadn’t shown it one bit, except for that first night when they met. It was obvious to the immortal that Ciel had decided that he would get farther trying to befriend the monster rather than be openly afraid. A very unusual child indeed.


	2. Playground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I have not had a friend such as you in many years, and friends look out for each other.”

Sebastian was probably the most unlikely, yet definitely the best, friend that a child like Ciel could have asked for. Every day, Ciel came home from school and told the demon about his day. He became Ciel’s most trusted companion, hearing stories and woes that the boy never breathed a word of to his parents. 

A few days into fifth grade, Ciel became the target of some classmates’ unwanted attention. Bard and Mey-Rin had some of the biggest personalities in the class, and made an easy target out of strange, quiet Ciel. They picked on him relentlessly at lunch and recess, taking his food and pushing him on the playground. There were several days Ciel came home with bruised limbs and covered in dirt, softly telling his parents that he simply fell. In the safety of his room, the demon under his bed received the whole story. 

“And then Bard pushed me into the mud puddle and said no one would believe me if I told the truth.” Ciel was in the bathtub, trying to scrub the dirt off his skin and out of the scrapes on his legs. Sebastian had ventured out from under the bed to join Ciel, his form creating a writhing shadow on the shower curtain that separated the unlikely friends. 

”Ciel?” Vincent called with a brief knock on the door. “Do you need any help? Want me to take a look at anything?” 

”No, I’m alright dad,” Ciel called back, picking off a scab that was holding on by a thread. As a father, Vincent naturally worried about Ciel’s health. But add on Vincent being a doctor, and his concern bordered on paranoia. 

The demon scoffed to himself at Ciel’s story; young humans were extremely petty, and most didn’t change as they aged. “And all this because your best friend is the monster under your bed.” He chuckled to himself. “Have you ever thought of returning the favor?” 

The idea seemed so ridiculous that Ciel dropped the bar of soap. “Definitely not. Bard is twice my size, he could throw me off the playground if he wanted. I get beat up enough as it is.” He winced as he rubbed shampoo into his stone grey hair; Mey-Rin had pulled it rather hard at lunch. The demon frowned, even though the child couldn’t see it. 

”Well nothing will change if you do nothing,” Sebastian admonished. 

”Then what do you suggest?” Ciel snapped as he drained the water. Sebastian passed him a towel before opening the curtain. 

”I suggest I lend a hand.” There was a dangerous chuckle in his tone. “Those brats won’t dare touch you again after I… have a word with them. 

Ciel frowned again, wrapping the towel around his body and padding to his room. Sebastian followed him like a wraith, slithering back to the darkness under the bed. 

”You have befriended a demon,” Sebastian said with a smile, “and no demon would stand for something like this.” 

”Well I’m not a demon,” Ciel shot back, struggling a bit with his pajama shirt. Once he was dressed, he reached into his backpack for the lollipop he won in classroom trivia. He broke the sugar off the stick and rolled the sweet under his bed. There was a flash of sharp teeth and the candy disappeared with a crunch. 

”It would be very easy,” Sebastian cooed, trying to persuade Ciel to let him out of the house for a little fun. “I have not had a friend such as you in many years, and friends look out for each other.” 

Ciel flopped into his bed and pulled out his phone, opening a maze game. “And just how will you come to school, sneak in my backpack?” 

”Why yes,” Sebastian replied matter-of-factly. “I can make myself unseen to everyone but you.” A pause. “I promise I won’t hurt them,” he said with an audible eye roll. “Just show them how much it sucks to be treated the way they treat you.” Ciel rolled his eyes as well. 

”Fine then, you can come to school with me. But you have to stay invisible. I don’t think I need to remind you the others don’t believe in monsters under the bed, especially if it’s coming from me.” 

The next day, Sebastian came to school with Ciel, hiding in his backpack. He kept up a running commentary about the houses they passed on the bus, telling Ciel about some of their previous occupants, human or otherwise. 

”I never asked,” Ciel said out of the corner of his mouth as he got off the bus and walked into school, “What’s a super old demon like you doing in a small town like this, especially for so long? This can hardly be the most exciting place in the world.” Sebastian chuckled, a single thread of shadow peeking out from the fabric of Ciel’s’ backpack to get a better look at the school. 

”When one lives as long as I do, time passes differently. What you consider a long time is barely a blink of an eye to me. I’ve napped through whole decades.” 

Ciel meandered through the halls to his classroom, ignoring the other kids as they ignored him. One inside, he placed his bag in his cubby and went to his desk, trying to avoid being noticed by Bard and Mey-Rin. He could feel Sebastian’s presence behind him like a cold wind, and true to his word the demon had remained invisible. 

“Where are they?” Sebastian whispered in his ear. “The ones who are bothering you.” Ciel looked up, watching Miss Hopkins write on the whiteboard. His eyes scanned the room, looking for Bard’s large form and Mey-Rin’s hair that was the strangest shade of red he had ever seen. “They’re not here yet,” Ciel whispered back. “Maybe they won’t come to school today.” Sure enough, the moment he said the words Bard came walking in, his baseball cap backwards on his head. He made sure to bump into Ciel on his way to his desk. 

”That’s Bard,” Ciel whispered, “He’s dumb but really mean.” Ciel could feel the demon’s frown on the back of his neck. “Wait ‘til recess,” Ciel whispered over his shoulder. “Miss Hopkins will definitely notice anything weird, she has eyes on the back of her head or something.” 

Sebastian hovered around the edge of the room during the morning, trying not to be bored to death with fifth grade English and math lessons. Now he understood why Ciel was having such a hard time beyond academics, he was way too smart to be in this class. It was little wonder he was picked on by these other kids who had stale end pieces of bread for personalities. 

Lunch passed relatively without incident, just a cafeteria monitor remarking that Ciel was feeling cold and looked pale. After lunch the kids were herded onto the playground, the lunch monitors keeping a careful eye on the clouds that kept threatening rain. Ciel went straight to the swing set and sat down, casually swinging his legs back and forth. He could feel the cold wind that was Sebastian’s invisible form on his shoulder like some twisted guardian angel. 

There was a cold tap on his hand and a whisper in his ear. “Here come your friends.” Ciel looked up and saw Bard and Mey-Rin casually making their way towards him. Recess was burning, and they had quite a few ideas for how to torment Ciel today. 

”Hey Phantomhive!” Bard yelled, turning the brim of his baseball hat to the side to look cooler. Mey-Rin was twirling a lock of hair around her finger, smirking as if she had a secret. “You were in my way this morning. I got a bruise from walking into your desk, think it’s only fair I return the favor.” 

”You only bumped into my desk because you’re too dumb to remember how to get to your desk,” Ciel grumbled back. Mey-Rin stifled a laugh. She didn’t dislike Ciel per se, but it was much more fun to watch Bard torment him than stand up for him. Bard frowned and cracked his knuckles. 

”Say that again Phantomhive. Call me dumb again, I double dog dare you.” Ciel smiled and looked Bard in the eye, feeling the cold wisp of Sebastian’s form move quietly through the air. Before Ciel could respond to the dare, Sebastian knocked Bard’s hat off his head, right into a puddle left from the previous night’s rain. Bard frowned but directed it at Mey-Rin, as she was closest to him. 

”What’d you do that for?” he half cried. Mey-Rin held her hands up and shook her head, no way would she mess with one of Bard’s prized hats. He then turned to Ciel, slowly making the leap of logic that since there was no one else, if Mey-Rin hadn’t done it, Ciel must somehow have been responsible. “You’re really gonna get it today Phantomhive, that was my third favorite hat!” 

True to his word, Ciel was the only one who could see Sebastian. This time, the demon had chosen to show himself as a swirling black shadow with red eyes and an evil grin, hovering in the air behind the bully. Before the great hulking boy had taken two steps toward Ciel, a tendril of shadow grabbed the back of his shirt and held on tight. Bard jerked back, almost stumbling over his feet. 

”Mey-Rin let me go!” The girl circled in front of him, her hands on her hips. 

”I’m not doing it, Bard.” A quick peek over her shoulder. “And I hate to say, neither is Phantomhive.” A frown touched her face. Then what the heck was happening? 

”Come on Bard,” Ciel goaded with a smile, watching as the shadow ball that was Sebastian tried to stifle its own laughter. “I thought you were really gonna give it to me today.” He spread his arms wide and jumped off the swing. “I’m right here Bard.” 

Bard kept resisting, his thick arms swinging wildly at Ciel but unable to reach him. His sneakers were skidding in the mud, unable to find any purchase. Sebastian held him like this for a few more seconds before letting go. The sudden lack of restraint sent Bard sailing forward, his face making a satisfying CLANG as it hit the metal post of the swing set. Mey-Rin rushed to his side, trying to help him up, but Ciel was doubled over with laughter. Blood began to drip down Bard’s face from his nose, and in his rage he tried scrambling to his feet and taking another swing at Ciel, only for Sebastian to knock him back onto his behind with barely a thought. 

”What’s the matter Bard?” Ciel asked through his tears of laughter. “I thought you were just dumb but now I see you’re dumb AND a klutz!” Mey-Rin was holding onto Bard’s arm as he tried to stop the blood. “I’m telling!” the large boy yelled, a hand over his face. 

”It’s like you said,” Ciel taunted, “No one’s going to believe you.” With that, Bard and Mey-Rin huffed and left their old victim alone. Still laughing, Ciel sat back down on the swing with Sebastian the shadow ball hovering above his shoulder. 

”Aren’t you glad you let me come to school?” the shadow cooed, still laughing himself. Ciel wiped away a stray tear. “Yea, I actually am. I don’t think they’ll be bothering me anymore.” A pause. “Thanks Sebastian.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this next installment! I'm estimating there will be at least two more chapters of Ciel and Sebastian's shenanigans as he goes through middle and high school, and maybe college?? Idk yet but I'm having so much fun writing this so we'll go where the story takes us xD


	3. Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ”I simply find it amusing,” Sebastian replied, “that you went from a monster under your bed to a best friend your parents have never met.” Ciel rolled his eyes and sat at his desk with his homework. 
> 
> ”Well the only thing that will get them off our case is meeting you.” He paused a moment, and a smirk touched his face. “What do you say?”

Middle school passed without major incident, and Ciel made the rocky transition to high school. Sebastian accompanied Ciel to school more often than not, keeping the boy entertained in the duller moments with snide comments about the teachers and stories about his own school days. Demons didn’t go to school in hell, but Sebastian had disguised himself as a human on more than one occasion and attended university to pass the time. He was immortal, not all knowing. Most of his knowledge came from lived experience, and Ciel ate up his stories about previous contracts and escapades. 

As far as Vincent and Rachel were concerned, their son had outgrown the monster under his bed years ago, but never stopped talking about his friend Sebastian. According to Ciel, they did everything in school together, including the school newspaper and chess club. Strangely, they had never seen this boy, or his parents when picking up Ciel. Either his friend was taking the after school bus or walking down to the middle school to be picked up by a friend. 

One day on the way home from school, Rachel turned to her sixteen year old, bursting-with-teenage-hormones son and said, 

”Ciel, when can we meet Sebastian? The two of you have been best friends since seventh grade and we’ve never seen him.” Ciel shrugged, scrolling through his social media. He could hear Sebastian’s low chuckle coming from the backpack at his feet. 

”He has a weird home life,” Ciel finally responded. “His parents are super uptight about how much of a life he can have outside school. So I don’t know.” 

Rachel sighed as she turned into their driveway. “I have half a mind to wait for him next week when I pick you up. Have to say, I’m concerned for that kid based on what you’ve said.” 

Once inside, Ciel kicked off his sneakers and grabbed a bag of trail mix on his way up to his room. “Don’t fill up too much,” Rachel called after him, “Dinner is in about two hours.” Ciel closed the door behind him and Sebastian’s form blew out of his backpack, a ball of laughing black shadow. 

”What’s so funny?” Ciel snapped, opening the bag of trail mix and picking out a few M+M’s, rolling them under the bed for the demon. Turns out that in the absence of a soul, demons develop quite a sweet tooth. And if Sebastian was to be believed, he hadn’t eaten in about a hundred and fifty years. 

”I simply find it amusing,” Sebastian replied, “that you went from a monster under your bed to a best friend your parents have never met.” Ciel rolled his eyes and sat at his desk with his homework. 

”Well the only thing that will get them off our case is meeting you.” He paused a moment, and a smirk touched his face. “I can’t see how that would be a bad thing. You wouldn’t be confined to under the bed for one thing. You could actually go out and see the world beyond my high school.” His smirk grew. “What do you say?” 

The red eyes in the dark rolled. “High school activities are tedious. Teenage humans are tedious. Will this be worth my time?” 

”Depends,” Ciel responded, closing his notebook. “Most fun things at my age will get you suspended, arrested, or in trouble with parents, none of which are fun. Class is alright, navigating social circles is also stressful and not fun.” 

”Hmmm… Well I suppose I have nothing to lose. At any rate it’ll pass the time.” 

”It’s decided then.” Ciel smiled as he stood and began to head downstairs for dinner. “I’ll tell mom and dad Sebastian would like to join us for dinner.” 

~~~~~

When chess club was over the next day, Ciel packed his bag and whispered to Sebastian, “Okay, mom is gonna be here in a few minutes. Get ready.” He moved into an unoccupied corner of the hall, keeping watch while Sebastian morphed into a human form. When Ciel emerged, it was in the company of a lanky teenage boy with sharp cheekbones and a shaggy mop of jet black hair. His bright red eyes had dulled to the color of dark red wine, and he had chosen to dress himself in a black t-shirt with faded black jeans and black sneakers. The backpack slung over his shoulder was also black. Ciel gave him a once over as they walked out the front door to the sidewalk where Rachel was waiting. She smiled and unlocked the doors as the two boys approached the car. 

”Hi Ciel! Good day at school?” Before Ciel could answer, she continued, “And you must be Sebastian! It’s so nice to meet you; Ciel hardly ever stops talking about you!” A frown touched Ciel’s face but Sebastian chuckled. 

”Really? Well, thank you for having me for dinner Mrs. Phantomhive.” 

”Oh please, call me Rachel. I hop you like meatloaf!” The smile fell slightly from Sebastian’s face. Human food, other than sweets between souls, wasn’t his thing. And from what he remembered, he REALLY didn’t like meatloaf. 

”My parents are vegetarian,” Sebastian lied quickly, “So I’ve never had meatloaf. But I’d love to try it.” 

”Well, feel free to tell me if it tastes awful,” Rachel said with another smile, pulling into the driveway. “We value honesty more than manners.” Surprisingly, she gave Ciel a pointed look, her gaze moving back and forth between him and Sebastian with raised brows. 

Ciel and Sebastian piled out of the car and followed Rachel into the house. Following Ciel’s lead, as if he hadn’t observed the young man doing this a dozen times, Sebastian kicked off his sneakers and shuffled them next to Ciel’s, letting his backpack thump to the floor. 

”You two are free to do whatever you want, I’ll call when dinner’s ready. Sebastian, do you want anything to drink?” Rachel said all this incredibly fast as she hung up her purse and washed her hands in the sink. 

”I’m fine,” Sebastian replied, holding up his hands with a smile. 

”Come on, let’s go upstairs,” Ciel mumbled, all but dragging Sebastian behind him. Once they were safe behind the closed door of Ciel’s bedroom, Sebastian practically fell over laughing. 

”What’s so funny?” Ciel demanded, flopping face first onto his bed. This was going to be a long night, and he didn’t even get to get away from Sebastian once dinner was over. 

”Isn’t it obvious?” Sebastian sat on the floor, black smoke appearing to leak from under his skin as he relaxed the human disguise, his eyes bleeding back to the bright red Ciel was accustomed to seeing under his bed. “Your mom thinks we’re dating and you don’t want to tell her.” 

”WHAT?!” Sebastian laughed even harder at Ciel’s outraged and incredulous response. “That’s ridiculous!” the boy continued, trying extremely hard to deny it. He wasn’t even gay! 

Between his chuckles, Sebastian asked, ”Well do you want to tell them or should I?” 

Ciel sat up to glare at him. ”We’re not saying _anything_ unless mom asks, and if she does, we’re not dating. Is that understood?” 

Sebastian chuckled one more time before schooling his expression into one that was calmer, yet no less amused. “I understand. We’re not dating. Got it. Your mom will totally believe it.” Ciel rolled his eyes and flopped back onto the bed. 

”This may not have been such a good idea,” the teenager mumbled, throwing an arm over his eyes. 

”Calm down,” Sebastian replied with a smile, waving a casual hand toward his friend. “It’s just dinner with your parents, you have dinner with them just about every night. Although I can only hope your mom’s meatloaf is actually good, last time you had it, it looked positively revolting.” 

”Ciel! Sebastian!” Vincent’s voice came from downstairs. “Dinner’s ready!” Ciel sighed again but hoisted himself off the bed, hands jammed moodily into his pockets. “Let’s get this over with,” he mumbled. 

The two boys shuffled down the stairs, Ciel’s hands still stuffed into his pockets. When they reached the kitchen, Rachel was just taking the meatloaf out of the oven, and Vincent had finished setting the table. “Ah,” he said with a smile as he placed the last glass, “You must be Sebastian.” He held out his hand for the young man to shake. 

After a quick glance at Ciel, Sebastian extended his hand and gave Vincent’s a firm shake. “Nice to meet you Mr. Phantomhive,” he said with a smile. They all sat at the table, and Rachel began passing dishes around. Meatloaf, pasta, and broccoli made their way around the table, and when everyone had some of everything, the Phantomhives tucked in and began to eat. Taking his cue from the boy seated next to him, Sebastian too cut into his meatloaf and took a cautious bite. 

It wasn’t as disgusting as it had appeared the first time he saw Ciel eat it, but it was definitely no delicacy. There must have been a way to make it more palatable so he wasn’t making faces all through the meal. Glancing around, he saw that Vincent had mushed up his slice and mixed it with the pasta. Sebastian took his fork and did the same before taking another bite. That definitely made it better, but he still didn’t want to get in the habit of eating this kind of food. He’ll stick to souls and sweets. 

”How is it?” Rachel asked with a smile before taking a sip of her wine. Sebastian returned the grin. “I’ve never had meatloaf made with real meat, but this is really good.” 

”So how was school?” Vincent asked, cutting up a large chunk of broccoli. Ciel shrugged, pushing his food around his plate more than he ate. “It was alright I guess,” he murmured. “Nothing new.” Vincent frowned; Ciel was in that phase where he didn’t want to share anything with his parents and would rather be left to his own devices. With a small sigh he turned to Sebastian. 

”So how did you two meet?” Ciel nearly choked on his next bite of broccoli; of all the questions for his father to ask! Sebastian stuttered, “Um, we met at-“ 

”He’s in my history class,” Ciel grumbled. “Then we both started doing chess and the newspaper.” 

”That’s right,” Sebastian quickly agreed, “He’s been helping me with chess strategy.” 

”That’s nice,” Vincent said with a smile through a mouthful of broccoli. “We’re all avid chess players, you’ll have to come by for a match some time.” At his father’s offer, Ciel almost choked on the bite of pasta he had taken. He had hoped that one dinner would be enough to get his parents off his case about Sebastian but clearly that wasn’t happening. His frown grew and he stabbed his broccoli with venom the poor vegetable did not deserve. 

The rest of dinner passed in a somewhat awkward silence, Vincent and Rachel seeming to communicate with looks alone. There was a question they wanted to ask their son but couldn’t agree on a moment to pose it to him. Once the meal was over and the dishes cleared away, Sebastian awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and said, “I should probably get going, my parents want me home before 8.” 

”Do you need a ride?” Rachel asked sweetly, moving dishes from the sink into the dishwasher. 

”Oh no,” came Sebastian’s hurried response. “That won’t be necessary, it’s not a long walk. Please, don’t worry about me.” A slight frown touched Rachel’s face, but she didn’t press the issue. 

”Come on,” Ciel mumbled, “I’ll walk you to the door.” Trying to hold back laughter, Sebastian followed the young man to the mudroom where he slipped his shoes on and slung his backpack over his shoulder. “Thanks for having me,” he called into the kitchen with a charming smile, waving as he opened the door and stepped out of the house. Ciel closed it behind him with a relieved sigh, wondering how long it would take Sebastian to resume his residence under Ciel’s bed. 

As he shuffled back into the kitchen, Rachel gave her son a cheeky grin and lovingly taunted, “He seems like a nice boy.” Ciel gave a soft “Hmph,” as his only response, grabbing a bottle of iced tea out of the fridge. “Yea,” he finally mumbled halfway up the stairs. Louder, he said, “He’s a really good friend mom. A friend.” Rachel gave him a knowing smile as he retreated into his room. 

Once the door was shut, Ciel slumped into his desk chair, setting down the iced tea and turning on his lamp. He should at least attempt to do some of his homework. 

”Well that wasn’t too bad,” came the voice from under his bed. Ciel turned to see Sebastian in his usual form of a black ball of shadow with glowing red eyes. “That was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been around my parents,” Ciel hissed back. “We’re not doing this again any time soon, I don’t think I could handle it.” 

”Oh lighten up,” the demon chided with a smile, hovering inches above the mattress. “It definitely could have been worse.” A deep breath left Ciel’s lungs, and a small smile touched his face in spite of himself. 

”Yea, I guess it could have been worse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy it's been a while since I updated this xD I've been mostly been working on Book of the Creed and life has gotten busy now that school is back in session, so thanks to everyone who waited so patiently for this next chapter. I plan to keep adding to this as long as the ideas keep coming; they might be out of age order going forward but still lots of fun. Kudos and comments are always appreciated <3


End file.
